An American Original

Summary

---

Podcast Summary: “An American Original”

Show: Criminal (Vox Media Podcast Network)
Host: Phoebe Judge
Date: January 30, 2026

---

Episode Overview

“An American Original” explores the elaborate, whimsical, and sometimes outrageous pranks and hoaxes designed by Allen Abel, a legendary satirist, and his wife Jean. Through interviews with Jean and their daughter Jenny, the episode tracks the origins, impact, and legacy of Abel’s most infamous stunts—ranging from the campaign to clothe animals to faking his own death—revealing how these playful deceptions became both a lifelong artistic pursuit and a family affair.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Society for Indecency to Naked Animals (SINA)

• Origins:
  • Inspired by witnessing cattle mating and people’s reactions, Allen Abel invented a fictitious campaign to cover animals with clothes.
  • “[Allen] started writing in his head. He started writing this story. And it was about an association of people who were going to make animals wear clothes.”
    — Jean Abel [05:30]
• Execution:
  • Allen sent letters, created pamphlets, and left them in motels and restaurants to spread the idea.
  • SINA was supposedly founded by “G. Clifford Prout, Jr.” (portrayed by future comedy legend Buck Henry), with a fabricated $400,000 inheritance.
• Public Reaction:
  • The media initially took the movement seriously, with stories in Newsday and The New York Times.
  • The “CINA clothemobile,” a vehicle to deliver animal clothes, was invented as part of the hoax.
  • “He pulled a large pair of pants out of his bag. They were for an elephant.”
    — Phoebe Judge [08:23]
• Picket at the White House:
  • Only Jean, Allen, and his doorman protested:
    • “It builds, it builds, it builds. Even though there are only three of us...it made all the newspapers.”
      — Jean Abel [09:36]
• Lasting Impact:
  • SINA was shut down after the IRS requested tax records for the fake inheritance, and Buck Henry was recognized during a Walter Cronkite interview, exposing the prank.
• Quote on the IRS:
  • “The Internal Revenue Service has no sense of humor.”
    — Allen Abel, via Associated Press (reported by Phoebe Judge) [13:15]

2. Yetta Bronstein: The Presidential Candidate Prank

• Creation of Yetta:
  • Jean, as Yetta Bronstein, a fictional Bronx housewife, launched a satirical presidential campaign (the “Best Party”), advocating for national bingo, a White House suggestion box, and opposing the Vietnam War.
  • “Allen later said they wanted to find out if, quote, America was ready for a Jewish mother in the White House.”
    — Phoebe Judge [17:05]
• Execution and Reception:
  • Jean gave radio interviews as Yetta (never TV, since she was young and “obviously older” as Yetta). Allen’s mother’s photo was used when needed.
  • “I never appeared because at the time I was still in my 20s and hardly a matron…”
    — Jean Abel [17:55]
  • The campaign achieved media attention but, as predicted, received no votes.

3. Pranks as Family Tradition

• Introducing Daughter Jenny:
  • Jenny grew up with her father’s antics, participating in staged events such as refusing to eat a “hair sandwich” on a talk show—Abel claimed it was a health food.
  • “We practiced together, but when the cameras were rolling, she refused to eat the fake sandwich.”
    — Phoebe Judge [20:15]
• The Caboose Adventure:
  • The family orchestrated the acquisition of an old train caboose as a backyard office, using Jenny’s ability to cry on cue to persuade the zoning commission.
  • “Nobody wants a crying kid in the room... they just appeased my dad and said, okay, okay, okay, you got the permit.”
    — Jenny Abel [21:13]

4. Other Notable Hoaxes

• Super Bowl Referee Prank (1983):
  • Abel sent fake referees and a police officer onto the field; the NFL confirmed the intrusion after public confusion.
• KKK Symphony Orchestra Hoax:
  • When David Duke was running for governor, Abel spread rumors of a “KKK symphony” to ridicule Duke and discredit him.
  • “He thought the KKK should be laughed at.”
    — Phoebe Judge [23:39]

5. Faking His Own Death: The Ultimate Prank

• Genesis:
  • After overhearing producers say his life story rights would be cheaper “if we wait around till he dies,” Abel set out to stage his own demise.
• Execution:
  • With help, staged a death at a Utah ski resort; the New York Times published his obituary on January 2, 1980.
  • “It was the first time in the newspaper’s history they had to retract an obituary.”
    — Phoebe Judge [29:31]
• Impact on Family:
  • Jenny, age 7, was told at school her father died, but suspected it was “another hoax.”
  • “I just played basketball with my dad. I don’t know what you’re talking about… I wasn’t really fazed because I think a part of me knew that it was another hoax.”
    — Jenny Abel [27:54]

6. The Abel Marriage and Legacy

• Reflection on Long Marriage:
  • “I guess I was tolerant for wanting. What was I gonna do? I love the guy. It was hard sometimes… but we just wanted to do our art together.”
    — Jean Abel [30:03], [30:45]
• Family & Influence:
  • The Abel approach to life prioritized creativity over money; their daughter continues to appreciate this legacy.

7. Allen Abel’s Final Days

• Allen’s Real Death (2018):
  • When Allen died at 94, the New York Times called to confirm he “was really dead.”
  • “It ran with the headline: ‘Allen Abel, Hoaxer Extraordinaire, Is (on Good Authority) Dead at 94’”
    — Phoebe Judge [32:42]

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “A kick on the intellect is what he used to say.”
  — Jean Abel on Allen’s motivation [23:39]
• “Jenny and Jeff have been together for about 24 years… They have a son who Jenny says reminds her of her father.”
  — Phoebe Judge, on Allen’s matchmaking [31:57]
• “If he saw that obituary that the New York Times inevitably printed when he actually died, like, he wouldn’t believe—it was almost a full page.”
  — Jenny Abel [32:18]

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00 – 02:30 | Introduction to SINA, the fake animal clothing campaign
• 05:30 – 07:24 | Buck Henry joins, SINA gets national attention
• 09:13 – 10:00 | The D.C. picket, public and media response
• 13:03 – 13:15 | SINA revealed as a hoax, the IRS gets involved
• 15:52 – 18:15 | Yetta Bronstein’s presidential campaign
• 19:32 – 21:13 | Jenny Abel reflects on childhood pranks
• 21:58 – 23:39 | Other hoaxes: the Super Bowl and KKK Symphony
• 25:56 – 29:31 | Faking his own death, New York Times obituary
• 32:06 – 32:42 | Allen Abel’s real death and legacy

---

Tone & Style

The episode is imbued with warmth, humor, and a sense of bemused admiration. Jean, Jenny, and Phoebe’s recollections retain the mischief and intelligence at the heart of Allen Abel’s life, holding onto the affectionate tone of a family remembering a brilliant, eccentric patriarch.

---

For listeners and readers alike, “An American Original” offers a heartfelt exploration of creativity, partnership, and the enduring power of a good prank.

Transcript

[Phoebe Judge]

Support for Criminal comes from Squarespace. If you're a business owner, you know that it matters how you present your business online. Squarespace has the tools you need to customize your website and advertise all the kinds of services you provide. Plus, you can choose the colors and fonts you like. Go to squarespace.com criminal for a free trial. When you're ready to launch, use the offer code CRIMINAL to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Close your eyes. Listen to Monday.com feel the sensation of an AI work platform so flexible and intuitive it feels like it was built just for you. Now open your eyes. Go to Monday.com, start for free, and finally, breathe. Hi, it's Phoebe. Today, an episode that we originally made for our other show, this Is Love. Sometimes a story will come along and we're not sure whether to make it for Criminal or this is Love, because it could kind of go both ways. This is one of those stories. We hope you like it. In 1963, Newsday published an article about an organization that thought animals should be wearing clothes. The headline was Decency Counts. The article included a sewing pattern boxer shorts for dog and horse. The pattern could also be used for cats, the writer noted, but with some minor adjustments. Quote, just ruffle the bottom and use a fancy print material. The New York Times wrote about this campaign, too. After people showed up and picketed in front of the White House. They wanted the first lady, Jackie Kennedy, to put clothes on her horses. Jean Able was one of the picketers.

[Jean Abel]

We called it cinna, the Society for Indecency to Naked Animals.

[Phoebe Judge]

Jean says that during the protest, she held up a sign that said, please put pants on macaroni. That was Caroline Kennedy's pony. He'd been a gift from Lyndon B. Johnson. Jean's husband, Allen Abel, was at the protest, too. Picketing in D.C. had been Jean and Alan's idea. Actually, the whole thing had been their idea. Cinna, the Society for Indecency to Naked Animals, was a prank that they'd been running for years. How did you and Alan meet?

[Jean Abel]

Well, I came to New York looking for an acting career. I had already done summer stock and studied speech and acting in college. And it was my time to try my luck.

[Phoebe Judge]

Jane saw a call for actresses in a newspaper. She answered the ad and ended up meeting Alan.

[Jean Abel]

He seemed very nice. At this point. I'd only spent maybe a month or so in New York. I'd met with various agents, and they all seemed rather abrupt. They didn't want to spend more than five minutes getting to know you. But he took like 40 minutes. And I'm trying to figure out why he was being so nice and kind to me.

[Phoebe Judge]

Allen was spending so much time talking to her because he was stalling. There was a man in the hallway waiting to talk to him about a prop tree he'd used for an Off Broadway play and never returned.

[Jean Abel]

So he was being sued for that. A couple hundred bucks. So I didn't learn about, of course, the processor for quite some time after. But meantime, we got know. Very chummy. What can I say?

[Phoebe Judge]

Jean and Allan were married within the year. I'm Phoebe Judge, and this is love.

[Jean Abel]

I. I can't say, you know, I fell for him immediately, but he certainly grew on me, that's for sure. He just had this. I don't know. I think a lot of it emanated from his father, who had a small general store in Coshocton, Ohio. And Alan was that kind of guy. He would engage waiters and waitresses in conversation. He would step outside the norm to be kind and to find other people interesting. And I kind of liked that. I thought that was very. That was unlike many of the fellows you would meet.

[Phoebe Judge]

You know, when Gene met Alan, he already knew what he wanted to do with his life. He just didn't know how he was going to do it.

[Jean Abel]

I think the thing that started it all for him when he went to Ohio State, he was giving the new freshman some sort of pep talk or something. In the process, he fell off the stage and he got laughs. They thought he was being funny. He actually fell off the stage without intent. But every time he rubbed his elbow or some other, you know, scratched his head or whatever, he got a laugh. And he liked laughter. He liked. He thought, huh.

[Phoebe Judge]

It was a few years after that when Alan came up with the idea that it would be funny to tell people to put clothes on animals. At the time, he was driving around the country performing music. He played the drums and he spent hours on the road.

[Jean Abel]

He was in Texas. And all of a sudden, along a highway in Texas, traffic stopped. There were cattle crossing the highway, and two particular lady and male cows were having a romantic affair. And people were just. The various reactions as he saw them in the cars ahead and behind in his rearview mirror were so interesting to him. He started writing in his head. He started writing this story. And it was about an association of people who were going to make animals wear clothes.

[Phoebe Judge]

Allen wrote to a couple newspapers pretending to be a spokesperson for the association. He wanted to see if they would take his letters seriously and publish them. They didn't, but he was still curious if he could get anyone else's attention.

[Jean Abel]

And so he started printing up pamphlets and leaving them along the way in motel drawers and restaurants and tables, you know, just trying to plant the idea.

[Phoebe Judge]

Allen wrote that the Society for Indecency to Naked animals was founded by a man named G. Clifford Prout, who. Who left his son, g. Clifford Prout Jr. $400,000 to run it. Apparently, the rest of the Prout family was contesting G. Clifford Prout's will, But his son was determined to carry out his wishes. Soon Helen decided that writing press releases and pamphlets about Cinna wasn't enough. He wanted people to be able to hear from g. Clifford Prout Jr. Himself. So he convinced a friend, an aspiring actor, to play him.

[Jean Abel]

G. Clifford Prout ended up being Buck Henry, a friend who was at that point in his career, not only an actor, but a writer.

[Phoebe Judge]

Buck Henry would eventually go on to create a comedy show with Mel Brooks called Get Smart. Then he'd co write the Graduate, direct Heaven Can Wait with Warren Beatty and host Saturday Night Live 10 times. But when Alan convinced him to play g. Clifford Prout Jr. Buck Henry was just starting out. So no one recognized him when he was interviewed about Cinna on the Today show in May of 1959 or again in June. When the show invited him back, NBC advertised that G. Clifford Prout Jr. Would return to the Today show to talk about, quote, his theories of nudism. Newspapers across the country started writing about cina. In the Austin American, One writer said, quote, if you hope as we did, that these people are kidding, you're wrong. Now, this unusual device here is called.

[Jean Abel]

A cina clothemobile, A vehicle, a truck.

[Phoebe Judge]

That we send into small communities with a driver and a cina member who can spot a naked animal at 50ft. This is Alan Abel describing one of the ways Cinna planned to get clothes to more animals. He did interviews about Cinna too, sometimes posing as Cinna's vice president. The clothesmobile never existed, but the Ables did make fake cine membership cards and some sample outfits for an interview with one TV show. Ellen brought a bag of clothes with him, as well as some diagrams of animals appropriately covered up. At one point, he pulled a large pair of pants out of his bag. They were for an elephant. Tell me about the idea for D.C. picketing in D.C. what was the plan?

[Jean Abel]

The plan was basically Alan put out a lot of print material that alluded to, you know, thousands of people showing up to picket. And we were going to be the forerunners. It was Alan, myself and his doorman.

[Phoebe Judge]

And since Alan had made such a big deal of the plan, some reporters showed up, too.

[Jean Abel]

And people going by in the cars were, you know, pausing and asking for leaflets. And as builds, it builds, it builds. Even though there are only three of us, a few people joined in along the way just for the hell of it. But it was just three of us. But it made all the newspapers.

[Phoebe Judge]

In 1962, Allen, Abel and Buck Henry visited the San Francisco Children's Zoo, which Buck Henry said they called, quote, the burlesque house of the animal world. Somehow the Daily Herald in London picked up the story and wrote that, quote, crowds cheered as g. Clifford Prout Jr. Attempted to put a pair of pants on a goat. Some reporters were much more skeptical about Cinna. When Buck Henry was interviewed by New York's Daily News, the writer said, quote, he's been on several TV shows, and thus far, no one has discovered whether he has his tongue wedged in his cheek. Alan Abel and Buck Henry told the press that Cinna had tens of thousands of members. But they made it clear that CNA never asked for money. Once Jean Able remembers, they actually did get a check from a woman in Santa Barbara who wanted to support the cause. The woman sent it to Cinna's supposed office at 507 Fifth Avenue in New York City, which was actually a small closet Jean and Allen rented. They sent the check back. In one interview, Allen said Cinna wouldn't accept money because it had been founded with g. Clifford Prout Jr. S inheritance from his father, $400,000. But then Allen heard from the IRS.

[Jean Abel]

Eventually, IRS came looking for the taxes on that money.

[Phoebe Judge]

Gene says the IRS wanted to see.

[Jean Abel]

Cinna's books, and he enjoyed the fracas. One way or another, he would solve all kinds of problems as they came up. And I think he was. Even when the IRS called him in for an audit, you know, he would be happy about it. I don't know why I wouldn't be. But he always felt challenged, and he liked the challenge to an IRS meeting. He would take a gift wrap tube and put a microphone in it in a shopping bag so he could record it. I never felt worried that he was. Well, maybe I felt worried a few times that he might get arrested.

[Phoebe Judge]

Things started to fall apart after Buck Henry, playing g. Clifford Prout, Jr. Was interviewed by Walter Cronkite on CBS. It was a risky move because Buck Henry was about to start working at CBS as a writer. For the Gary Moore Show.

[Jean Abel]

Well, it was found out that Buck Buck was kind of right under their noses. He was right there writing for Gary Moore while he was still occasionally playing Buck A G. Clifford Proud Gene says.

[Phoebe Judge]

That eventually someone recognized him and CBS realized they'd been pranked. Cinna wasn't real, Walter Cronkite was upset and people started to realize that Allen Abel was the one behind it all.

[Jean Abel]

Well, I think CBS also was for a period of time, was angry with him, wouldn't do anything. His, his picture was up on some billboard somewhere. You know, don't talk to this guy whatever whatever.

[Phoebe Judge]

In 1964, five years after Allen started CNA, he admitted to a reporter for the Associated Press that it was all made up. He also said, quote, the Internal Revenue Service has no sense of humor. We'll be right. Thanks to Squarespace for their support. Making a website can be intimidating, especially because it's often the first thing people see about your business. If you want to build a website that makes a great first impression on people, you don't need years of coding experience. You just need Squarespace. It's the all in one website platform made to help you stand out online. Squarespace has the tools you need to make your website look exactly how you want it to look, sell your services, and get paid. No matter what business you're in. You can choose from a library of templates designed by professionals, or if you don't want to scroll through all the template options, Squarespace's blueprint AI can build a website for you in just a couple of minutes based on a few prompts it'll pull from different templates to create the website you need. Go to squarespace.com criminal for a free trial. When you're ready to launch, use the offer code criminal to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Support for Criminal comes from Wayfair. Sometimes you don't need to move houses or apartments to fix the thing that's bothering you. Wayfair can help you get a change of scene at home. All it takes to finally get rid of the forever pile of clutter on your desk is a new file cabinet. Or, if the lighting in your bedroom is never quite right, too bright to read and too dark to get dressed. Add a new lamp or two, or if you're just bored, a few new pillows or a rug can make your living room feel exciting again. Wayfair has everything you need to elevate your space, from bedding and mattresses to storage solutions for every room in the house. I ordered a new cabinet for shoes and jackets and bags near the front door. And things have never been less cluttered. Get organized, refreshed and back on track this new year for way less, go to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home. That's W A Y-F-A-I-R.com Wayfair Every style, every home. Tell me the story about yet a Bronstein.

[Jean Abel]

Oh, well, yet where are you? This was something I invented. Alan once did a radio show from the Playboy Club. It was new at that time and Hugh Hefner had seen him and put him in that role. And it was a call in show and people could respond and I would call in as different characters and yeah, there was one.

[Phoebe Judge]

Alan's live radio show for Playboy was called Table Talk. When Jean called into the show as Yetta Bronstein, she introduced herself as a housewife. Quote, yeta lives in the Bronx. She has a boy named Marvin. He plays the drums badly.

[Jean Abel]

The show with the Playboy Club didn't last long. I think three months. But we thought, Jetta can't be hanging out there doing nothing. Yeta has to do something. The campaign was on Jonathan and what was his name? Goldrich. Gold something.

[Phoebe Judge]

Barry Goldwater.

[Jean Abel]

So Allen decided that Jetta should run for president.

[Phoebe Judge]

Allen later said they wanted to find out if, quote, America was ready for a Jewish mother in the White House. Jean liked the idea and they started thinking about Yeta's campaign. They decided that she would run as a write in candidate for a party they called the Bess Party. Yetta's platform would include national bingo and putting a suggestion box on the fence of the White House. She also opposed the Vietnam War. Jean and Allen printed posters for Yeta which included an address for the best party headquarters, 507 Fifth Avenue, the same broom closet they'd used as the address for Cinna. Then Jean and Allen contacted radio stations so Jean could give interviews as Yetta. She tried to stay away from tv.

[Jean Abel]

I never appeared because at the time I was still in my 20s and hardly a matron and yet I was obviously older. So we ended up using Alan's mother's picture when we had to produce something.

[Phoebe Judge]

Here's Jean Izetta on WNBC in New York. There'll be a change in government.

[Jean Abel]

When Yetta gets to be first lady and also president.

[Phoebe Judge]

When the Democratic National Convention happened in New Jersey that year, Allen And Jean got 20 people to march around the convention center holding signs that said Vote for Yeta. And also at least one sign with just the question, why not? In November 1964, the New York Times ran an article called the Third Party. Mostly extreme, the article read, there appears to be no national consensus for bingo and Mrs. Bronstein may fail to carry a single precinct. That turned out to be true, since yet a Bronstein wasn't even on the ballot. In 1972, Jean and Allen had a daughter, Jenny. By then, they'd spent about 13 years trying to pull off different pranks together, and Allen was still coming up with new ideas. Here's Jenny.

[Jenny Abel]

He had just dressed up in bandages as Howard Hughes. Right before I was born, Allen, with.

[Phoebe Judge]

His entire face covered in bandages and claiming to be Howard Hughes, announced at a press conference at the St. Regis Hotel in New York City that he.

[Jenny Abel]

Planned to freeze himself through cryogenics until the stock market was higher.

[Phoebe Judge]

And because the billionaire Howard Hughes was usually very private, 36 reporters actually showed up. Jenny remembers that even as a toddler, Alan would sometimes bring her in on his pranks.

[Jenny Abel]

I do remember going on to the Bill Boggs show and eating a hair sandwich or refusing to eat a hair sandwich.

[Phoebe Judge]

This was when Alan pretended to be a doctor investigating the, quote, food properties of human hair. He said it had good protein. Jenny says even though they'd practiced together when the cameras were rolling, she. She refused to eat the fake sandwich. A little bit later, though, Jenny and Alan got away with something bigger.

[Jenny Abel]

My dad somehow caught wind of the fact that there was a train car, an old caboose, like a 1916 Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific caboose that was down at the local train yard.

[Phoebe Judge]

Alan decided he wanted it.

[Jean Abel]

I mean, it was like, I don't know, 48, 50ft long and 8ft wide. This is no small thing. Had the cupola on top and the old classic looks of a caboose.

[Phoebe Judge]

The Abels lived in Connecticut, and the local planning and zoning commission wasn't so sure about the caboose.

[Jenny Abel]

Of course, they said, no, no, no, you can't have a caboose. You know, blah, blah, blah. And my dad had taught me how to cry on cue. And nobody wants a crying kid in the room. So I think they just appeased my dad and said, okay, okay, okay, you got the permit.

[Phoebe Judge]

The Ables had a caboose christening party for their neighbors. And over the next few years, Jenny grew up playing with it, and Alan often used it as his office. The Abels eventually sold their house, but as of 2023, the Caboose is still there. Jenny remembers seeing her parents pull off other pranks too. Like in 1983 when Allen sent a fake referee into the Super Bowl.

[Jenny Abel]

I just remember the costume. I remember my dad having a fake referee costume. I don't know if he bought tickets. I don't even know how with security at the time. In the 80s, they got through. But my dad had a fake referee and a fake police officer run onto the field. And I believe the fake referee called a few plays before they were pulled off the field. Someone realized, it's a joke. They're not real.

[Phoebe Judge]

A few days after the game, the NFL confirmed that a fake referee had made it onto the field. The Iowa City Press also reported that Allen Able had snuck onto the sidelines wearing a white medical jacket. One of Allen's most controversial hoaxes was in 1991, a few years before David Duke, the former head of the kkk, had tried to run for president initially as a Democrat. In 1990, he ran for the U.S. senate. And in 1991, he was campaigning to be the governor of Louisiana.

[Jean Abel]

And he was actually, you know, taken seriously. And that was what bothered Allen.

[Phoebe Judge]

And then during his gubernatorial campaign, reports started coming out that David Duke had founded a KKK symphony, reportedly to rival the New York Philharmonic. When a reporter called David Duke, he wrote, he was, quote, irritated and said, there is no KKK symphony orchestra. The hoax was eventually traced back to Allen Abel. And he told that same reporter he thought the KKK should be laughed at.

[Jean Abel]

He always just wanted to get people engaged intellectually to get them to wake them up. A kick on the intellect is what he used to say.

[Phoebe Judge]

We'll be right. Support for Criminal comes from Jones Road Beauty. Daily routines become a bit easier when the products you use are simple and well made. The Jones Road Beauty Miracle Balm is lightweight and just one layer does a lot for your skin. You can use it as a highlighter, bronzer, blush or lip tint. All Jones Road products are made to be good for your skin and they're free of ingredients that look and feel heavy to wear. I like to keep my morning routine fast and simple and I prefer makeup with a very light touch. So I'm excited to try the no Makeup Makeup Miracle Balm myself. Jones Road is modern day makeup that's clean, strategic and multifunctional for effortless routines For a limited time, our listeners are getting a free cool gloss on their first purchase. When they use Code Criminal at checkout, just head to Jonesroadbeauty.com and use code Criminal at checkout. After you purchase, they'll ask you where you heard about them. And you can support our show by letting them know we sent you. On February 13th, crime 101 hits theaters.

[Jean Abel]

What is it that you do?

[Phoebe Judge]

I take high value items and make them disappear. So you're a thief. This guy's a ghost. There's no DNA. He's in and out in a second.

[Jean Abel]

You're guy's untraceable.

[Phoebe Judge]

Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Kyogan and Halle Berry. One crime connects them all.

[Jean Abel]

We're good at this.

[Phoebe Judge]

Yeah. Crime 101, directed by Bart Leighton. Rated R. Under 17. Unmuted without Paris only in theaters February 13th. By around 1980, Allen Abel's hoaxes had made him a little famous. And Jean says there are conversations about making a movie about his life. When Alan went to meet with some producers about selling the rights to his life story, he ended up in an elevator with people who were talking about him. They didn't recognize who he was.

[Jean Abel]

And they're talking to each other about, well, if we, if we wait around, you know, till he dies, we can talk to the mudo, you know, and get it cheaper. It was basically that train of thinking and that's what sparked him to figure, well, what if I die? Let's see what you do, you know.

[Phoebe Judge]

So Alan decided to fake his own death. He came up with a story that he died in Utah at a ski resort. He got in touch with some trusted friends to help him pull it off.

[Jenny Abel]

There was a whole, like, really involved production. Like he had a fake telephone and his friend in Utah who would corroborate the story that he had skied and lost control and like, landed in the woods and died of a heart attack somewhere in Utah. And they had a fake funeral home director.

[Phoebe Judge]

The funeral director would corroborate his story. When the newspaper called, Allen submitted news of his death to the New York Times, which published its obituary on, on January 2, 1980, with the headline allen Abel Satirist Created Campaign to Clothe Animals. It read he was 50 years old and lived in Manhattan and Westport, Connecticut. Mr. Abel made a point in his work of challenging the obvious and uttering the outrageous. In addition to his wife, he's survived by a daughter, Jennifer. Allen hadn't told Gene about the plan to fake his own death.

[Jean Abel]

He didn't keep me waiting forever. I mean, knowing my husband as I did, I know he couldn't have been out skiing out in wherever it was supposed to be, some western state. So I figured, I just want more of those.

[Phoebe Judge]

Jenny was 7 years old, and Alan didn't tell her either.

[Jenny Abel]

The way that I remember it, I had gone to school that day and everyone was looking at me with these sorrow filled eyes and expressions. And then my teacher actually approached me and said, I am so sorry, Jennifer. And I really didn't know what she was talking about, honestly, like that. I said, what do you mean? And she said, well, your dad died. And I was like, what? I just played basketball with my dad. I don't know what you're talking about. I wasn't really phased because I think a part of me knew that it was another hoax.

[Phoebe Judge]

Gene says Allen eventually called to say he was alive, but she doesn't remember exactly when. Did you have to confirm to anyone? Did anyone call you up and say, well, somebody.

[Jean Abel]

Somebody left flowers. And we never knew who that was. And there were calls from some of his friends, but that took another day or so. So by that time I knew it wasn't. But I guess I kept his, you know, I kept it quiet, I didn't divulge. And some of them said, I was just writing you a note when I thought, wait a minute, this is Allen Able. And they threw it in the garbage instead.

[Phoebe Judge]

Allen waited a couple of days and then he organized a press conference to announce that he was alive. On 1-4-19, the New York Times ran another article. Obituary disclosed as hoax. It was the first time in the newspaper's history that it had to retract an obituary. Allen and Jean Able were married for almost 60 years. What do you think was the key to your long marriage?

[Jean Abel]

Well, I guess I was tolerant for wanting. What was I gonna do? I love the guy. It was hard sometimes. We went through a lot of different things up and down and I mean, we lived sometimes on, you know, on the tip of a pin for lack of money or whatever. We. It's amazing how things happened.

[Phoebe Judge]

Their daughter Jenny says her parents were always talking to each other about ideas and writing them down. She remembers that one prank involved throwing real money out the window of a fancy hotel suite.

[Jenny Abel]

It's almost like it's symbolic of their whole relationship where they weren't fixated on money, they just. My mom and my dad loved each other and the money didn't matter. They just wanted to do their art together.

[Phoebe Judge]

Sometime around 2001, Allen was recording an interview with a TV show that wanted to talk about his pranks over the years.

[Jenny Abel]

And apparently my father saw that the camera operator was suppressing laughter. And after the interview was over, my dad said, hey, do you want to go out to dinner?

[Phoebe Judge]

The cameraman was named Jeff. Alan thought he might get along well with Jenny.

[Jenny Abel]

And my dad was. He was relentless. He's like, did you call Jeff? Did you call Jeff? Did you call Jeff over? Over.

[Phoebe Judge]

He wouldn't stop.

[Jenny Abel]

So I finally called Jeff. We went on a date. I don't know if I would say it was love at first sight, but by the end of the night, the deal was sealed. Like, I just. I can't believe that my dad set me up with him.

[Phoebe Judge]

Jenny and Jeff have been together for about 24 years. They have a son who Jenny says reminds her of her father.

[Jenny Abel]

In September, September 14, 2018, my dad died for real. And we got more than one call from the New York Times to make.

[Phoebe Judge]

Sure he was really dead.

[Jenny Abel]

It was, you know, my mom and I were still grieving, but that part I found to be so. It was almost like, funny, you know, I feel like if he saw that obituary that the New York Times inevitably printed when he actually died, like, he wouldn't believe, was like almost a full page.

[Phoebe Judge]

It ran with the headline, allen Abel, hoaxer extraordinaire is parentheses on good Authority dead at 94, quote. He was. The news media conceded with a kind of irritated admiration. An American Original. Criminal is created by Lauren Spore and me. Nadia Wilson is our senior producer. Katie Bishop is our supervising producer. Our producers are Susanna Roberson, Jackie Sajiko, Lily Clark, Lena Sillison and Megan Kinane. Our show is mixed and engineered by Veronica Simonetti. This episode was mixed by Michael Rayfield. Julian Alexander makes original illustrations for each episode of Criminal. You can see [e-mail] and you can sign up for our [e-mail] Newsletter we hope you'll consider supporting our work by joining our membership program, CriminalPlus. You can listen to Criminal, this is Love. And Phoebe reads a mystery without any ads. Plus you'll get bonus episodes. These are special episodes with me and Criminal co creator Lauren Spohr talking about everything from how we make our episodes to the crime stories that caught our attention that week, to things we've been enjoying lately. To learn more, go to patreon.com criminal we're on Facebook hisiscriminal and Instagram and TikTok at criminalpodcast. We're also on [e-mail] criminalpodcast criminal is part of the Vox Media podcast network. Discover more great [e-mail] I'm Phoebe Judge. This is Criminal.